The tourists think big. Arriving in Southern California, they expect to conquer Disneyland and Hollywood, perhaps on the same day, in between the surfing and snowboarding. Then they get stuck in traffic. Then come the recriminations, the tears, the vows to visit an island next time. The locals think small. Tracing tight little loops between home and work, they dodge freeways and alien neighborhoods. There are Los Feliz people who haven't set foot in Venice since the latter Bush administration (I'm one)

Re “Dedicated until the end,” April 23 The Times reported on a moving ceremony to appropriately honor fallen LAPD Officer Christopher A. Cortijo. It did not report on the decision to shut down roads and gridlock rush-hour traffic downtown and elsewhere to hold a freeway motorcade. Is this the legacy that the officer would have wanted? Was it the best way to honor his life and work? As I sat trapped in traffic, I heard a siren. Could the ambulance reach its target in time?

August 12, 2011 | By Steven Armstrong, Special to the Los Angeles Times

Perch is a new rooftop bar and restaurant that's making downtown L.A. rethink the way it does night life. Unlike downtown's most famous rooftop bar — the ostentatious poolside lounge crowning the Standard Hotel — Perch doesn't have a pool or red Astroturf or gaggles of scantily clad partiers. It doesn't have a million-dollar lighting system or a make-believe speak-easy either. What Perch does have is a fine cocktail program, an impressive selection of French wines and spirits, a French-inspired dinner menu, panoramic views, live music and a palpable lack of pretension.

A woman was struck by a Metro Expo Line train near downtown Sunday afternoon, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The accident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. on Vermont Avenue near USC, said Metro spokesman Luis Inzunza. The train was traveling westbound and had just departed from the station when the pedestrian apparently walked into the train's path. Sheriff's Lt. Richard Hoffman said he had no information on the injuries suffered by the woman, who was transported to a local hospital.

Premium grocery chain Whole Foods Market Inc. will open its first downtown Los Angeles store in 2015, a major development in the neighborhood's gentrification efforts. The new store, which had long been rumored, will occupy 42,000 square feet inside a luxury apartment complex at 770 Grand Ave. Whole Foods will join Ralphs as the only major grocers downtown -- a neighborhood with an increasingly hip and well-heeled residential population. Top 10 riskiest industries for investors "We've been looking for the right space for close to 10 years as we know that access to natural and organic foods in the neigborhood has been challenging," said Patrick Bradley, president of Whole Foods Market Southern Pacific Region, in a statement released by L.A. City Councilman Jose Huizar's office Wednesday.

Re "Downtown's costly streetcar," Editorial, Oct. 29 When will planners ever learn? Trolleys belong on Main Street in Disneyland, not in downtown L.A. Surface rail transit is extremely expensive, inflexible, kills people and gets in the way of other traffic. That is why most trolley lines disappeared by the mid 20th century. One of the few things that the MTA has gotten right is its natural-gas-burning clean-air buses. They require the least taxpayer subsidies, and lines can be added or moved at low cost.

Re “Dedicated until the end,” April 23 The Times reported on a moving ceremony to appropriately honor fallen LAPD Officer Christopher A. Cortijo. It did not report on the decision to shut down roads and gridlock rush-hour traffic downtown and elsewhere to hold a freeway motorcade. Is this the legacy that the officer would have wanted? Was it the best way to honor his life and work? As I sat trapped in traffic, I heard a siren. Could the ambulance reach its target in time?

EVENTS Now in its 15th year, Pershing Square's "Downtown on Ice" continues to offer its geographically improbable wonders for holiday revelers and frustrated hockey enthusiasts of all types. The rink is even open on Thanksgiving for those looking for a way to burn off the turkey and stuffing for themselves or visiting family members. 532 S. Olive St., L.A. Daily through Jan. 21. $6 per hour, $2 skate rental. http://www.laparks.org/pershingsquare/.

A consultant hired by Los Angeles County to develop a long term plan for the county's aging jail facilities laid out options for a roughly $2-billion proposed overhaul of the county's jail system in a report released Wednesday. Concerned about deteriorating facilities and poor living conditions for inmates with mental health issues, county supervisors want the Men's Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles torn down and replaced. Officials are also contemplating creating a new 1,600-bed women's jail at the now-vacant Mira Loma Detention Center in Lancaster, to replace the overcrowded women's jail in Lynwood.

In the battle for tourists, Los Angeles is losing ground to rivals Orlando, Fla., New York, and Chicago. L.A. County has broken its own record for annual visitors three years in a row - thanks to a rebounding economy, sunny California weather and popular tourist attractions. But L.A.'s tourist numbers are not growing fast enough to keep up with the nation's top three destinations, primarily because the city lacks enough hotel rooms to host more tourists. "We have an awful lot of things that are in our favor," said Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

April 22, 2014 | By Hailey Branson-Potts, This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

Hundreds of uniformed police officers gathered in downtown Los Angeles early Tuesday to pay their final respects to a veteran LAPD motorcycle officer who died earlier this month after being struck by a driver suspected of being under the influence of cocaine. A 26-year veteran of the LAPD, Christopher Cortijo, 51, had been assigned to the Valley Traffic Division when he was struck from behind on April 5 by an SUV. At a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, colleagues remembered him as a man who so cherished his role as a motorcycle cop that he wore a leather motorcycle jacket even in the soaring San Fernando Valley heat.

A man was in critical but stable condition after he was shot in a confrontation with officers in a downtown Los Angeles parking garage, police said Monday night. No officers were injured in the shooting at the building in the 600 block of South Grand Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Officer Sara Faden said earlier Monday that initial reports from the scene stated that the man was armed with a gun. On Monday night, she said it was unclear whether the suspect had a weapon.

A man allegedly armed with a gun was shot in a confrontation with officers in downtown Los Angeles, police said Monday evening. No officers were injured in the shooting in the 600 block of South Grand Avenue, the Los Angeles Police Department said. There were no immediate details on the condition of the man who was shot. Around 4:30 p.m., officers responded to a radio call regarding an assault with a deadly weapon, Officer Sara Faden said. "The officers encountered a suspect with a gun," she said. Investigators were at the scene gathering evidence.

Nearly a decade ago, lawmakers in Los Angeles took an aggressive step to boost the city's languishing Convention Center, granting tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks to spark construction of a 54-story hotel nearby. The strategy worked, bringing 1,000 new rooms to the sleepy neighborhood. Within a few years, hotel developers in the area had secured as much as $508 million in tax benefits over the coming decades. But as downtown continues to boom, some inside and outside City Hall say Los Angeles should be much more selective in giving out tax breaks to lure new hotels.

Thousands of Angelenos turned out Sunday to enjoy the music and food offered up at the 24th annual Fiesta Broadway. Many took advantage of picture-perfect weather to stroll the many food, craft and merchandise booths lining Broadway. A number of streets near City Hall are closed for the festival, which runs until 6 p.m. Broadway is closed from Temple to 4th Street; Spring Street from Temple to 1st Street; and 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th streets between Spring and Hill streets. Road closures will be lifted before 5 a.m. Monday. ALSO: Road closures begin for Fiesta Broadway in downtown L.A. Bellflower man dies after his car veers off Highway 91 in Cerritos Granada Hills wins third national Academic Decathlon competition carlos.lozano@latimes.com

Announcing that rapper Jay Z's popular Made in America music festival is coming to downtown, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday that the event will "shine a spotlight" on Grand Park, the city's up-and-coming Civic Center gathering spot. But what was billed as a coup for a reemerging Central City is also prompting debate about the idea and future of a refurbished and increasingly lively public venue that cascades from the edge of the Music Center to the steps of City Hall. The open space, expanded to 12 acres and relaunched in 2012, hosted free Fourth of July fireworks and a New Year's Eve party, events that each drew tens of thousands of visitors.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and rapper Jay Z are set to appear Wednesday outside City Hall for what is expected to be an announcement on the two-day Budweiser Made in America music festival planned for Labor Day weekend in Grand Park. Garcetti sent an advisory saying the news conference will be attended by Budweiser Vice President Brian Perkins, along with county Supervisor Gloria Molina and City Council President Herb Wesson. The prospect of a major concert drawing as many as 50,000 people to the heart of downtown had raised red flags for Councilman Jose Huizar , who warned that street closures and beer sales could create "a nightmare" for downtown residents.